TIP #13: STRENGTHEN YOUR SECURITY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

When someone tries to reset a password, they’re often able to do so by answering security questions. Unfortunately, many of these questions are asking for information that’s either publicly available or very easy to find: Your date of birth, the name of your first pet, or your mother’s maiden name, for example. If an account doesn’t have two-step verification and you’re concerned about the possibility of someone trying to reset your account, consider giving the wrong answers for these questions.

You can make up a false location, date, or name, or answer a different question than the one asked—giving a place of birth when asked about a maiden name, for example. The only drawback with this approach is that can, of course, be difficult to remember what your security answers are, so make sure to store them in a safe place.